The Prince, the Thief & the Artifact

Chapter 23: Fight

Leon was sparring with Al in his private training room. A circular space in his private suite with high ceilings windows cutting through the width of the pale gray walls, an armory wall with various sections each dedicated to a weapon type.

From daggers and swords to maces and axes, the armory boasted real weapons and their wooden counterparts used for training.

Felix would have a heart attack if he knew what Leon was doing, but the inactivity was driving him insane.

Besides, Al needed some sense beaten into him. And Ida simply refused to get involved with him any longer.

Leon, too, realized he couldn't change his friend's heart where Summer was concerned. Al had to come to his own conclusions. So after a grueling training session, Al and Leon plopped down on the ground, sticky with sweat and gasping for breath, while Ida threw daggers at a training dummy in a methodical manner.

Ida had gone to have a talk with the four boys who had ganged up on Summer in prison. They had been in the infirmary over the past week. After they recovered, Leon would have to pay them a visit as well.

"They're remorseful," Ida said, weighing the throwing dagger in her hand. "Well, three of them are. There was one who looked as if he thought he did nothing wrong. He also seemed to be the leader of the group. They take their cues from him."

"Who is he?" Al asked.

"Blake." Ida looked at Al. "You know him."

"Blake?" Leon asked.

"General Brodrick's son." Ida made a face. "Blake is a first year student, like the other three. He seemed to believe that since Summer was presumably involved in the murder of the museum guards, she didn't deserve to stay in the comfortable confines of prison without paying a price."

"According to who?" Leon asked.

"He made the decision himself," Ida said, throwing the dagger with a curl of her lips.

The blade hit the lower part of the dummy with a resounding thud, right where the crotch would be on a human. Leon and Al winced.

"He also seemed to think I wasn't qualified enough to render judgment on them." She smiled, the effect chilling, then threw another dagger. This one hit the target smack in the middle of the chest.

"What did he say?" Al said, his voice cold. He and Ida often bickered like children, but they always had each other's backs. Except when Al messed up occasionally.

"He didn't have to say anything," Ida stalked to the mutilated straw dummy and retrieved the knives.

Leon sighed. General Bordrick was known for his radical views on women and their roles in society. He was one of the few generals who were vocal about their dislike of the presence of women not just in the military, but in the governing body of the kingdom. Apparently, his son adopted his ideas.

"The problem isn't just that brat." Ida looked at Leon. "I talk to some of the girls who are now in training. The view that women are less than men, whether it be in physical or intellectual abilities, is widespread among the ranks of the first years. It's not a new issue. But if we're going to let these girls have a chance in making a difference in the Kingdom, this limited point of view has to be shattered."

Al sighed, "it helped when you were an instructor. It was a brief period of time, but it changed many notions the students have. That's why the second and third year students are more accepting of their female colleagues."

That was a problem they had to remedy.

Leon felt guilty. He had been stuck in a dark place over the past couple of years. Not caring about anything other than getting his son to open his heart again. Consumed by guilt and sorrow, he had let Ida and Al handle most of his responsibilities.